Stella Douglas and her daughter, Nell, 2, of Conway, play in a shady spot on the south shoreline of Puffer’s Pond in Amherst as temperatures climbed into the mid-80s on Thursday morning. The two were sharing the plentiful shade with friends Katie Schofield and her son, Oakley, also 2, of Leverett.
Stella Douglas and her daughter, Nell, 2, of Conway, play in a shady spot on the south shoreline of Puffer’s Pond in Amherst as temperatures climbed into the mid-80s on Thursday morning. The two were sharing the plentiful shade with friends Katie Schofield and her son, Oakley, also 2, of Leverett. Credit: STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTING

NORTH AMHERST – Stella Douglas and her daughter, Nell, 2, of Conway and friends Katie Schofield and her son, Oakley, also 2, of Leverett found a shady spot on the south shoreline of Puffer’s Pond to stay cool as temperatures climbed into the mid-80s on Thursday morning. After a hot and humid three days to end the week, temperatures are expected to drop a bit this weekend.

Kevin Gutting can be reached at kgutting@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @KevinGutting.